The Noida Authority, along with UP Tourism, will organise a 10-day festival, ‘Shilpotsav Noida- 2016,’ at Noida stadium in Sector 21A beginning Tuesday.

Tents being set up for the 10-day event, which will feature a total of 400 stalls and bring together artisans from Rajasthan, Gujarat, Uttarakhand and UP, among others.(Sunil Ghosh/HT Photo)

The Noida Authority, along with UP Tourism, will organise a 10-day festival, ‘Shilpotsav Noida - 2016’, at Noida stadium in Sector 21 A. The festival will begin on Tuesday.

The event aims to promote artisans from Uttar Pradesh and other Indian states.

The festival will bring together small scale entrepreneurs and handicraft artisans from Rajasthan, Gujarat, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, West Bengal, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab and Karnataka. A total of 400 handicrafts and gift stalls will be set up at the venue for the visitors.

Thailand will also participate in the festival, bringing in an international dimension.

The sports facility complex at Noida stadium has been chosen as the venue for the festival. On Tuesday, Om Prakash, UP’s minister for tourism, will inaugurate the festival at 6 pm. Entry fee is Rs 20. Children below three can enter free of cost.

Officials from Noida Authority and UP Tourism spoke about preparations for the festival, at a press conference organised on Monday,

“The theme of the festival will be tourism and we are expecting at least a 10% increase in the number of visitors, compared to previous years’ Shilpotsav festivals. This will be a unique opportunity for residents of Noida to interact with other cultures of India and have a good time with their family members,” said Amit Srivastava, deputy director, UP tourism.

The budget allotted for the festival is Rs 1,25,00,000, he added.

Visitors to the festival can also expect to see cultural performances, Ghazal evening sessions, stand-up comedy events and poetry sessions.

“A total of 10 food stalls serving Rajasthani, Awadhi, Gujarati, Haryanvi and traditional UP cuisines, will be set up. 10 electric swings will also be there to entertain children and visitors,” said PK Aggarwal, chairman, Noida Authority.

Police and the Noida administration are fully prepared to deal with the huge crowds expected at the festival, Authority officials said.

“We have the full support of the Gautam Budh Nagar administration and the Noida Police, for the festival. Visitors who use public transport for commuting to the stadium will have to use gate number 6 to buy entry tickets. Gate 1 will be used by VIPs to park their vehicles,” Agarwal said.